New traditions and additions: Old Blue Mound Church recently renovated

South of Chillicothe on Highway Z, across from the old Blue Mound School building, lies the old Blue Mound Church building. The building had been used as a church since around 1880, but closed around 1981.

South of Chillicothe on Highway Z, across from the old Blue Mound School building, lies the old Blue Mound Church building. The building had been used as a church since around 1880, but closed around 1981. After remaining empty and unused for nearly 29 years, it was transformed into the Blue Mound Cowboy Church in 2011.

Blue Mound Cowboy Church was originally started by Stanley Maberry in the machine shed on his property south of Dawn in 2010 as a non-denominational church. When attendee numbers climbed to about 70 people per service, the location was changed to the Blue Mound Church building.

Before the church's first service Dec. 7, 2011, a Cowboy Church missionary group came and helped to restore the roof of the building, which was falling in. No further construction was done on the old building, even as the congregation grew to reach numbers over 100 for their monthly services. In the fall of 2013, Blue Mound spokesperson Warren Hoyt and other members of the church took a vote on whether or not to expand the building to increase its capacity.

"We'd been talking about it whenever we got up to 130 and 140 (people) because there wasn't enough room," Hoyt said. "The pews were all filled and we had chairs up the aisles."

The majority agreed, and in December of 2013, a 24-foot extension was added to the building. This included adding a second exit to the building and adding an elevated stage for the country band. Though the oak wood used for the extension, carpet for the stage, cabinets for the kitchen area and time and labor were donated by people throughout the community, Hoyt said that all-in-all, the renovation cost about $25,000.

To help pay the bills of the renovation, Blue Mound will be hosting a two-hour soup supper and live music event at the church Sunday, Jan. 19, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Carolyn Maberry, a member of Blue Mound, said the event is a free-will donation, and that everyone is invited to attend the event.

Blue Mound Cowboy Church holds services the second Sunday of every month beginning at 8 a.m., with breakfast following at 9 a.m. For more information on the church, contact Warren Hoyt, Stanley Maberry or Leroy Shockey.